Money - Subtract money - Planning

In the first week of the Spring term, Year 3 students embark on a maths journey to master the art of subtracting money. The lesson is well-equipped with worksheets, a presentation, and sugar paper for practical activities. Key vocabulary such as 'subtraction', 'converting', 'counting', and 'calculation' is introduced, and students are encouraged to visit the school's website for helpful vocabulary cards and definitions. Teachers initiate the lesson with a 'Fluent in Four' exercise to refresh the students' memory on previous lessons. The class teaching input involves demonstrating different methods to subtract money, including removing coins, converting pounds to pence, and using number lines to find the difference between two amounts. Group work encourages students to draw number lines on sugar paper to solve word problems, while independent learning is facilitated through differentiated worksheets focusing on fluency and reasoning.

In the following lesson, the concept of 'giving change' is tackled using similar resources and methods. Students are reminded of their experiences as young shopkeepers and are shown that giving change is essentially the same as finding the difference between two amounts. The class explores how to use number lines and the part-whole model to calculate change, with a focus on jumping to the next tens number for ease of calculation. Partner work and group activities further reinforce this concept, as children draw number lines or use part-whole models to solve problems. Independent learning is again supported by differentiated worksheets. Throughout the lessons, students are prompted to reflect on their learning, discussing what they found challenging and what strategies aided their understanding. The aim is to build their confidence in subtracting money and giving change, whether dealing with simple amounts or more complex, multi-step problems.